Every day the North Carolina Botanical Garden Facebook page adds a post about something currently happening or growing in their gardens. Recently they posted a picture of a square seed capsule with the following information:
This funky plant grows in wet areas like ditches and freshwater tidal marshes. Its small yellow flowers drop their petals quickly, sometimes after just a single day, but we get to enjoy the beautiful seed capsules through the fall and winter. You’ll find seedbox alongside the goldenrods and ferns in our Coastal Plain Habitat.
So I decided we would hunt for this interesting looking seed capsule. We had no idea what size it would be but we headed for the Coastal Plain Habitat and searched and searched with no luck.
We then looked for identification signs for goldenrods and ferns, found some and located what looked like a promising patch of dried up vegetation near them.
Then Tim googled seedbox and found out that these seed capsules were very small, about 1/8 in. cubed. So my eyes kept inspecting the area ever more thoroughly…
We did see lots of pretty dry plants…
And then, at last, I found some!!! In the picture below the seedbox capsules are tangled up with another kind of plant.
Tim used his walking stick to move one stem of the capsules away and turned them so we could see the tops of them. Cute little cubes. I imagine there is a seed in each box. Seedbox! So tiny! (picture below) Our persistence paid off and I doubt we would ever have noticed these little gems if we weren’t looking for them.
aka square-pod water-primrose
After that bit of excitement a hermit thrush flew by us and landed in the bushes. It stayed put for quite a while and I thoroughly enjoyed the photo op.
The botanical garden also has a bird blind with bird feeders in the Children’s Wonder Garden so we walked over there, spotting some cardinals and lovely trees along the way.
(reminds me of the one I had outside my kitchen window in Connecticut)
And lo and behold, there on the feeder was a new life bird for me, a Carolina Chickadee!!! I couldn’t zoom in fast enough before it left but I was happy to spot one. 🙂
John James Audubon named this bird while he was in South Carolina. The curious, intelligent Carolina Chickadee looks very much like a Black-capped Chickadee, with a black cap, black bib, gray wings and back, and whitish underside. Carolina and Black-capped chickadees hybridize in the area where their ranges overlap, but the two species probably diverged more than 2.5 million years ago.
~ All About Birds website
A Carolina wren kept us amused for quite a while with his antics on the feeder.
There was much to see in the winter garden, many delights for the eyes. It was only 32°F (0°C) when we left the house so I had put on my thermal leggings and wool hat from Norway and managed not to get too cold.
The hunt for seedbox was good stimulation, exercising our brains along with our bodies.
How cool are those? I’m going to start looking to see if we have them around here. (Just did a search and yes, we do. The flowers look familiar.) Congrats on the new life bird. The Carolina wrens always keep me amused. Funny little birds. 🙂
Thank you, Robin. I’m wondering if you have both kinds of chickadees (black-capped and Carolina) in your area? I think we’ve probably seen those yellow seedbox flowers, too, without knowing what they were. Will have to keep checking back there come May. 🙂
This is so fun and interesting to read, Barbara! Those square seedbokses would really have made me holler if I had discovered them. Thank you for sharing all your discoveries, they are such treats for me xo
You’re very welcome, Leelah! I would probably never have noticed those tiny seedboxes if I hadn’t read about them and been looking so hard for them. They were so hidden and mixed in with so many other plants. ♡
Cheers to the botanical garden for reminding us that plant activities carry on throughout the winter. Your bird captures made me smile, which is a good way to start the week. 🙂
Thank you, Frank, birds do have a way of brightening even the grayest of winter days. I do look forward to those daily Facebooks posts from the botanical garden — learning so much from them. 🙂
Lovely photos. I like muted winter pics of gardens, they provide balance against all the pretty, pretty other times of year when people are more inclined to snap a photo. The Carolina wren is cute.
Thank you, Ally. I knew Carolina wrens for their pretty songs but this was the first time I saw one being so goofy. I’m glad you like muted winter pictures, too. Especially the seed heads are so sculptural and striking.
I’ve never heard of seedbox before, but I find it very cute! Just like a wee box for holding a seed. And your birds are splendid, especially the wrens and chickadee. Late Fall in your area has so many interesting things to see!
Aren’t they just so adorable? We don’t often seen square shapes in nature, but there are always surprises to delight our senses. There were so many cute little birds at those feeders — it would be tempting to spend the whole day sitting there!
such beauty! thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, Ren! Thanks for stopping by!
I absolutely love the Carolina wren doing leg stretches and exercise on the feeder! Happy you were able to spot those cute square seeds! Were there many other people walking around the gardens?
32 degrees here today. Had tiny snow flurries this afternoon. Too cold for us to go outside. We are hunkered in waiting for two days of hard freeze. Brrr 🥶
Those Carolina wrens are adorable trying to find the best positions to get more seeds from the feeders. Actually I don’t think we encountered any other people that morning, except for the occasional gardener pushing a wheelbarrow or lugging tools from one place to another. But there were a couple of cars in the parking lot so there might have been other visitors there. That arctic blast is finally supposed to get here tonight and might bring temps in the teens. Brrr is right! 🥶
I’m wondering how the squirrels are staying warm enough in theses freezing temperatures!
I found this online: “Eastern gray tree squirrels stay in their nests or dens to conserve body heat during cold temperatures. Nests are built from leaves and sticks that are densely packed, providing a strong, weatherproof structure. Dens provide a food chamber as well as protection from cold weather. The dens are holes constructed in living trees, frequently expansions of woodpecker holes. The Eastern gray squirrel does not hibernate; however, it will remain in the nest or den during cold weather, leaving it only to forage once the food supply has diminished.”
This is very interesting. Those Eastern Squirrels are smart to include a food chamber!! I have a daily squirrel I named Junior because he is tiny. He runs back and forth along the fence from his tree nest in the backyard to the front yard oak trees collecting acorns. Now I know where Junior has been taking some of those acorns! I had not thought of that. I don’t know what type of Squirrel Junior might be. I will have to google search to see if I can identify that.
Ah, I learned Junior is an Eastern Fox Squirrel. Nesting very much like Fred! But I must say Junior is very shy and watches out for me and Yorkie… 🐿️
Hmmm… I wonder if I’ve ever seen an eastern fox squirrel without realizing the difference to the gray one. Seems like they might be difficult to distinguish. I’m glad you and Yorkie have Junior to look out for you! ♡
That must be fun watching Junior gathering his acorns! Squirrels are industrious little creatures, and organized as well! 😉
A wonderful exploration, Barbara, and a great reason for getting out and about. You got lots of good photos, too. Thanks for sharing, esp. cool to see the Seedbox, well-named!
Thank you, Eliza! It was good to have a goal for the walk to keep my mind off the cold. This morning I was looking up the seedbox range and found a New England site that calls the flower a square-pod water-primrose!
What a treasure trove of goodies to see on your excursion, in what season has been for years the dead of Winter (although you probably never expected some very cold temps). Those little square boxes are so perfect … how lucky you and Tim were to find them in your “treasure hunt”.
We did have a good time hunting and I’m glad we didn’t give up. 🙂 I have to admit, I thought it would be warmer down here in the winter, and I suppose it is on many days. Tim’s loving every minute of the cold weather, though. I’m happy the botanical garden is so inviting, even in winter.
You had such a hot and sticky Summer, it is nice to walk and not be worn out by the heat. I am surprised it gets that cold too – you are lucky you can find so much joy with the lush, green and colorful Gardens and forest.
I’m trying to locate a spot in the garden I can photograph every month as the seasons change. I loved the “Cicada Maple Seed” sculpture hanging from a southern sugar maple but after getting pictures of it in September and December it was gone on this trip. Back to the drawing board, although I still like that tree.
That would be nice Barbara. I did an “each season shot” at Council Point Park standing at the beginning of the walking path where you can go left or right, same spot for each season. That was fun to do.
I remember your wonderful “each season shots.” The differences were so striking!
And it was fun to do – sadly I didn’t make it to the Park today. There is too much ice and I knew it would be bad down at the Park, so at the last minute I had second thoughts about it. We’re getting to the 40s after this freezing rain on Tuesday, so I’ll try later in the week.
I’m sorry the weather kept you away from the park again. Sigh! Better safe than sorry, although I bet you have a good case of cabin fever now. The 40s is going to feel like a heat wave for you. We haven’t been getting out much, either.
I agree Barbara. Today we had freezing rain, then after two more days of rain, finally Friday has no rain and gray, but warmish. Yes, it will feel like a heat wave. I’m ready to go, but nothing to take photos of as I’m sure there will be lots of mud.
It is getting more and more difficult to find something interesting to photograph in the monotonous winter landscape. I think I will take our stuffed groundhogs out for Groundhog Day, if it’s not too wet or muddy, and find a spot with good shadows…
That will be fun to do. I am planning to use my shadow pics I told you about for next Wordless Wednesday and say “the groundhog has nothing over me – I saw my shadow too” … I think I have four pics and a pic of my feet because the shadows are so long you don’t see my feet.
How exciting to find the seed boxes you were searching for! And a bonus bird too. I love seeing photos of cardinals as well – what a great walk! Your birds are so dainty compared to most of the birds I see in my area. <3
It was a wonderful walk! We’re thinking we should try to visit the botanical garden once a week since the scenery keeps changing with the seasons. And I understand different kinds of birds migrate through. Cardinals are the bright spots in winter and fortunately are here year round. ♡
Now that is an adorable little seedbox! So glad you found it. Big congrats on the chickadee, woot! 💃😊 Always a thrill to add another lifer! Keep on going! All the dried flowers and plants were lovely, I have stopped my husband from cutting down some of our property growth just because it’s too many still. (He’s waiting with pruners, ha!) I did giggle at the wren and his leg stance, lol.
Here is the NC Botanical Garden ebird link that you can view prior to visiting in the future, it will show you what people have reported seeing, and if you click on their checklist, it’ll give you the time they were at the botanical garden. When I know I am going to a specific park, refuge, etc, I always check just prior (that morning sometimes) to get an idea what I might be looking for. Try it, I think you will like it. 🙂
well darn, it’d be nice if I put the link. 🤪 here you go! https://ebird.org/hotspot/L856588
Ok, I realized I forgot the link and just sent another comment, but it’s not showing up, maybe because your blog spammed my website link insertion. Trying it again without me typing www. in the beginning. See if this goes through to you. ebird.org/hotspot/L856588
Thank you, Donna! 🙂 This was the first time I’ve seen Carolina wrens at a feeder looking silly while trying to get in the best positions. Usually they perch quite seriously while singing from the bush branches outside my windows. It’s good you got your husband to wait and leave some undergrowth for the pollinators and birds to make good use of!
Thank you so much for the link! (I do have my blog set to hold comments with links in them — it seems to reduce spam. I will approve the comment when I see who it is from.) I can’t wait to try the link to see what birds are in the area, and when. The botanical garden seems like one of my best bets for finding birds around here. 🙂
Wow, those are really neat! I’ve never heard of seedbox but now I’m glad I’ve seen them. And fun bird photos! How great to have a bird blind to shoot from.
I’m happy to share something new for you to see! It’s getting more difficult this time of year to find interesting pictures to share. Birds are always fun, though.
This time of year is difficult for sure!